Have you considered having eCollegePC build you one? They will build one to your specifications and provide a 3 year parts and labor warranty at no extra charge. Shipping is free too. A bunch of people here at GB have gotten new gaming computers from them. They are also very fast in building one for you.

This is an example of one that cuts no corners for $1053, free shipping and 3 year warranty. You can always back off on a couple of things to stay under $1,000.

EDIT: I should add that unless they have changed, places like Best Buy sell computers with integrated graphics and as a gamer - even the new adventure games - you will not be happy with one from there.

Thanks Drac! Even though I did not want to order, I will pray mine holds on for a few days and will order it in the morning unless someone has anything better. I value all your opinions, I really do not know where to start on my own.

I'd agree with Draclvr. You can order what you want, and if anything happens to the computer, eCollege will give you good customer service.

It's hard to find a good gaming computer at a local store like Target or Best Buy. Most of them sell pre-built computers that aren't meant for better than casual gaming. And if they do sell gaming computers, they charge more for them than eCollege would for an equivalent computer.

Wow, good buy. I just grabbed a good Antec Case - or did you get a different one? They have a ton of other ones too. The Antec case is nothing fancy, but gets very good ratings at Newegg. The two USB ports on the front of the case are USB 3.0 too. I would definitely stay away from the default case. It's OK for a lightweight system and I've used it for one build for a guy in his late 70's. But it's too small for enough cooling for an Ivy Bridge processor and that video card.

If you upgraded the stock cooler, that's a good upgrade. From what I understand the Ivy Bridge CPUs run a bit hotter than the Sandy Bridge CPUs do. Even an extra case fan would be good depending on which case you got.

You could have upgraded the motherboard too, but that Asus is a very good one and has plenty of upgrade potential should you ever need to. It's a good compromise and let's you get the better video card and stay close to your budget.

Just FYI, the business is right here in St. Louis in the South County Shopping Center. So your ground shipping should be pretty fast.